BC SPCA

Travelling with your "best friend just got better"

One of BC's favorite pet friendly hotel chains, Accent Inns has partnered with the BC SPCA. Guests can now return the unconditional love of their beagle, bichon or border collie with a road trip to one of the pet-friendly Accent Inns throughout British Columbia. Whether it's a trip to sniff out the first signs of spring in Victoria, or a combination business and ski trip in Kamloops or Kelowna, Accent Inns will welcome your four legged friend just as warmly as they welcome you and now one dollar from all pet stays will go directly to care for local animals in need. Last year approximately3,500 pets stayed at Accent Inns throughout BC.

The love of dogs runs deep at Accent Inns and pets are welcome throughout the year. Mandy Farmer, CEO of Accent Inns, is a dog lover through and through and often travels with Lando, her five year old black lab. "Pets are a huge part of many of our families at Accent Inns," explains Farmer. "Many of our regular business travellers bringing their dogs on the road with them and families who are travelling throughout BC also appreciate being able to share their hotel room with Bella or Buddy." The Pet Stay program is available at all Accent Inns BC hotels; Vancouver Airport, Burnaby, Kelowna, Kamloops or Victoria. These properties all offer green space around the hotels and great neighbourhood dog walks.

Accent Inns has been independently certified by Pets Can Stay as meeting or exceeding all criteria required for the Standard Certification designation. For more information on the Pets Can Stay program, visit www.petscanstay.com.

Their History: Even though J.E. Knight of Ashcroft, BC, was not on the list of founding members of the BC SPCA he can be credited with initiating the formation of the BC SPCA by lobbying the government to pass an anti-cruelty bill in 1895. When the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act was passed, it set in motion the creation of a non-profit Society called the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals that was authorized to investigate and enforce complaints of abuse towards animals and to propose new legislation.

A committee of individuals concerned with animal protection was formed to create bylaws and a constitution for the BC SPCA. In 1896 the first meeting was held in New Westminster and in 1898 the Society held an election for the Board and the BC SPCA Vancouver Branch was founded.

By 1901 there were SPCA branches in New Westminster, Victoria, Vancouver, Vernon, Kamloops, Ashcroft, Okanagan, Kaslo, Nelson, Revelstoke and Rossland. These branches enabled the Society to investigate cases of animal cruelty on a larger scale throughout the province. It was not until 1955 that the first shelter was built for the Vancouver Branch.

More branches sprang up around BC at the instigation of individuals and communities concerned about animal welfare, and today the SPCA has 36 branches throughout the province. Most of these branches operate a local animal shelter while others provide services through satellite adoption centres and foster homes. Branches work with the community to provide services such as cruelty investigations, sheltering and adoption, emergency rescue and treatment, humane education, advocacy, wildlife rehabilitation and a wide range of other programs to help animals.

Throughout the years, the BC SPCA has been instrumental in improving welfare for animals, through advocacy campaigns on issues such as the plucking of chickens while still alive, horse race monitoring, the contamination of waterfowl in oil spills, opposition to the seal hunt, dogs in the back of pick up trucks, the suffering of farm animals in industrial farming, lobbying to establish the Humane Slaughter Act, improvements to transportation of livestock, increased access for pets in rental housing and reforming the Cruelty to Animals Act.

The BC SPCA has also had a significant impact on society's change in attitude towards animals through its school education programs, youth camps, public awareness campaigns, and by lobbying municipal governments to create bylaws for mandatory spaying and neutering, licensing, and other aspects of responsible pet guardianship. All of these factors have played a role in elevating the status of animals in our province.